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Hope your training is going well. There are a few races coming up that I have friends training for such as the Sydney City to Surf (I am hoping to do this next year), The Sunshine Coast running festival and if you are really crazy then Tough Mudder is next weekend. I have a few friends doing it and didn’t have the inclination to do myself and get electric shocked on the way round!

When I have had a race in the diary I usually work to a schedule 8-10 weeks before and try and stick to it to the letter depending on what I want to achieve i.e. a specific time, distance that I haven’t done for a while.

Schedules are great to give you motivation too. I don’t know about you but I am a list person and I like to tick things off – so the idea of ticking off a training session each day and counting down is very exciting for me (nerdy yes I know) as well as helping me meet my goals with specific training sessions i.e. hills, speed, distance etc to ensure I am strong enough for the race.

I received a training question last week from someone and I thought it might be useful to other people to share and it’s kind of around the idea of a schedule and planning hence it’s in this post.

Question

I’m putting a team together for the Lorne Adventure Race this December and I’m

going to do the Trail run part of the 50 km endurance race.

My question is; I run three 9 km runs a week and one 18 km every

fortnight or at least a 14 each fortnight, my runs are coastal, sand, hills ,logs , beach and road, how should I change my runs to get better

distance? Slower the first half? More interval training? Time of day?

My week consists of Pilates, yoga and PT sessions but nobody is a

distance runner so some advice would be great, the Lorne race needs to be

a fast 15 km.

As I am not a qualified coach and didn’t want to give incorrect information I asked my UK friend and coach Roger Alsop who is is an accomplished International athlete with over 20 years experience of running to answer the question on my behalf.

My reply was:

Sorry for taking a while to get back to you. I decided to ask my

friend/coach to help me with this question as I didn¹t want to give you

incorrect advice.

Roger knows his stuff and is top for his age for 5k in the UK. He helped

me with some of my races.

Anyway please see his response below (we are going on the fact that no exact distance was given and that a fast 15km was required):

The answer would be to mix up the training. 2 interval sessions a week, 1 short reps

with short recoveries e.g. 20 x 1 min and one long reps with longer

recoveries e.g. 5 x 5 mins with 3 min recoveries. The long run could be

time based, e.g. 2 hours at an enjoyable pace ( need to build up to it,

assuming that’s not how long he takes for 18k). That’s a very general

response to the question. When I do schedules for someone I find out as

much as possible to fit their needs, an indicator of their half marathon

time and 10k times would be useful as 15k is about 9 miles, but it is

trail.

Schedules

Here are some good generic schedules if you are looking for a starting point but I would always advise seeing a qualified coach who can create a tailored schedule for you and your training as the generic schedules may not be suitable for everyone:

The Girl That Runs previous post on training schedules (it’s a bit old – from 2011 but the information will still help)

Image taken from free stock site stock.xchng id 1419869 – credit to zomb_kille

I was talking to a good friend last week and we got to talking about exercise and diet. I know a lot of people who rely on their training to keep them trim and if they weren’t training they would be much larger than they are because their diet isn’t good.

I guess this was me when I first started running 11/12 years ago. I figured running was great because I could eat what I wanted and still lose weight. In fact when I was training for the London Marathon I was in Health and Fitness Magazine as the girl who could eat what she wanted and lose weight! I had to keep a food diary and they published it and then talked about the fact that i was training so hard it didn’t matter how much or what I was eating etc etc. At the time I was proud to have this label but when I think back now to what I was eating it was shocking and I was lucky I was motivated to train!

Food has always been one of those areas that I have had a love hate relationship with but I guess as I get older I am realising just how much it can affect my lifestyle and the way I feel. Recently I have had to cut gluten out of my diet as well as dairy as much as possible and it has amazed me how hard it is and also how much rubbish there is on the market to try and replace much loved gluten and dairy items such as bread – and it’s been a real fight to remain healthy and not fall for all the yummy looking replacements out there full of junk. Not training as much as I would usually has also meant to really keep an eye on my eating which is finally paying off as thankfully I haven’t gained weight whilst reducing training in fact I have lost weight :-)

I am no nutritionist or personal trainer but it’s not rocket science – you are what you eat! Eating and living unhealthily is not great – and just because you can still run/swim/ride/whatever well it doesn’t mean you are healthy and living a healthy lifestyle – it means you are fit not healthy. A lot of health experts say diet counts for 80% exercise 20% which I am definitely in agreement with. Why exercise when you then finish and have a doughnut or cigarette! What’s the point of all that hard work you just put in?!?

Imagine the sense of exhilaration you’ll experience at the end of race that’s even longer than a standard marathon. Intrigued? Welcome to the world of ‘ultra running’.

I have a few friends that are ultra runners and I have often had people ask me what’s involved and what it’s all about so today’s post should help answer a few of those questions.

If you’ve never heard of ‘ultra running’ before, the term basically covers all types of competitive running longer than the 42 kilometres of a typical marathon. They can also take place on any surface – including roads, dirt tracks and mountain trails.

In Australia, the UK and US, 50 mile (80km+) routes are becoming increasingly popular, as are trails that take in rough terrain and woodland to really push runners to their physical limits.

While in many respects this could be considered the next step up from a marathon, taking up ultra running doesn’t necessarily require you to double your training schedule. Speaking to Men’s Health magazine, record breaking ultra runner William Sichel said it’s not necessarily increasing your training that’s crucial to succeeding in ultra running; rather it’s about adapting your running style, by incorporating walking breaks.

If anything, the only difference you’ll notice between traditional marathon running and ultra running is the speed at which you wear your running shoes out! It goes without saying that the more kilometres your rack up, the quicker you’ll need to replace your footwear. Stringer Sports is a favourite Australian source for running shoes at the moment – in a lot of the stores they are too expensive and I end up having to order from the US but their prices are reasonable. And, for any UK readers, take a look at the selection of running shoes from Millet Sports and opt for a design that incorporates gel and foam into the design for optimum comfort when you’re covering long distances.

Even though your training schedule won’t need to be expanded, you’ll notice that ultra running takes more of a toll on your body and recovery time is longer. If you’re feeling the strain of your exertion and you’re struggling to recover after a spot of ultra running, check out these top recovery tips from Runners World.

Ultra-running is about discovering your bodies limits; and pushing past them to achieve and endure more. If you’re an experienced and accomplished marathon runner, why not take the next step with ultra running and put your body to the test?

I haven’t posted in a while as has life has been so chaotic with work. My working days have been spreading into time when I should still be in bed and long into the night. It’s all good but it’s meant that I haven’t been able to train too much.

The weekend just gone was the Gold Coast Marathon, Half Marathon etc and I knew a lot of people who ran it including a number of friends that ran their first ever marathons. They had a tough day as it was quite warm and it’s hard when you have been training in the cold and then suddenly you get a much warmer day for the race. I have had that happen a few times and it’s hard work. But they did really well and finished which is awesome.

I was quite hyped up after reading about lots of different peoples experiences on Saturday and Sunday so was a bit naughty as I am not meant to be pushing myself too much at the moment and I went for a secret run! I probably pushed myself too hard and it hurt but oh boy did it feel good to be out running and feeling that great sense of working hard :-) Can’t wait until I can start my proper training again and my friend and I were just discussing today our plans to lead up to the New York Marathon on 2015. I am so excited I can’t wait to start building back up to those long long runs.

In the meantime I am taking it a bit easier, doing lots of toning to keep everything trim and enjoying the rest before the hard work begins again :-)

On another note if you have been reading for a little while you’ll remember that Run Stop Shop was looking to name the top running blog in Australia from their point of view. Thanks to those of you that voted I came 4th :-) I didn’t even expect to get ranked so it was a nice surprise and encouraging.

Wow it’s been a busy week or so. I was planning to write a bit more than I have in the last couple of weeks but time has not been on my side.

I did manage to complete the 10 days of the #goOrange challenge but I forgot to take a photo of the last Orange day – oops! See photo – I wasn’t that adventurous but I tried!

I’m a little bit orange’d out though to be honest. It was a fun challenge but I think I will have a break from them for a little while.

Hope your training week has been good. I did a PT session with my lovely friend earlier in the week and she smashed my arms! I am still aching now and struggling even to lift my hand bag – how much of a sook am I!! It’s amazing how a few kettle bell sessions and push ups can hurt!

Anyway thinking of all of you training and racing this weekend. My friends are riding the Brisbane to Gold Coast 100k bike ride – I wish them the best of luck and am actually thankful on this occasion I won’t be riding as it’s cold brrrr!

I posted a while ago that I was frustrated at not being able to run at the moment due to some medical issues. It’s really hard when you are used to doing something you love (I have been running for 11+ years) and are told to stop.

I have gone through a number of psychological emotions and feel like I am finally getting used to the idea.

Initially being told to not run for a while made me rebellious and determined to train as usual – not the best option especially when medical bills start coming in. And then I went through the depressed state of realising that I wasn’t meant to be training and admitting to myself that I should stop training – I felt quite isolated from running friends and suddenly went from seeing lots of people to hardly any at all. I also felt depressed seeing when other people were going running and I wasn’t able to. Then I felt miserable and I didn’t want to see running friends because I was fed up at not being able to run and wanted to stop all the questions around why I wasn’t training.

It’s hard when we are unable to train but keeping positive and upbeat is the key.

And then I turned a corner.

I decided enough was enough with the pity party. It isn’t going to be forever that I can’t train much, just the situation I have found myself in right now.

Here are a few tips for keeping positive and motivated when you can’t train.

Encourage friends – become the encourager

If you are in the same situation and not being able to train I urge you not to isolate yourself but to become the encourager.

I have made it my mission to keep in touch with friends and to encourage them in their training. It’s great to see how well some of the people I have been running with for a while are now doing – that’s the great thing about running – keep doing it and you will see progress.

Volunteer

Volunteering is a great way to keep connected with the sport you love even if you can’t do it.

I decided to volunteer with an established running group and went along for the first time today and it was great.

I was the run ‘photographer’ which was perfect me being an avid photographer and I photographed people as they started and finished the race – it was great fun being a spectator for a change and seeing how hard people were working and cheering them on to finish. I found even though I wasn’t able to be one of the runners that I felt every bit as involved and I will be doing it on a regular basis as well as hopefully soon taking part in the run itself.

Plan for when you can train

I am already planning my races for when I can train again and have the New York full Marathon, Sydney Half, Melbourne Half and Gold Coast full Marathon in mind for 2014/15 and I am seeing my not training hard now as rest time as I know once I am fully training again it’s going to be a lot of work to get back to where I was and some – but it is giving me real motivation to know what’s around the corner.

Stay positive

It’s very easy to fall into that trap of being negative and ‘woe is me’ because something isn’t going your way but it’s a lot healthier to stay focussed, positive and surrounding yourself with positive people. The negative ones have to go especially when you are going through things you need friends to support you with, and keep those positive affirmations up. I have a few awesome friends who have been there for me and who I can chat to about all sorts of things, and helps keep me going.

Do what you can within your limits

Walking, weights and my XBox 360 have become my friend of late. I walk with my lovely friend 4+ times a week and we drag our dogs out, and then I have a few fitness games on the XBox which are surprisingly effective that I have been doing as well. I am also able to still do weights within reason so I am trying to keep my fitness up as much as I can so when it is time to go back to training it won’t be from zero. Depending on why you can’t train have a think about what is within your ability and go for it.

Plan to treat yourself to stay focussed

I know for me, when I am able to train again I have money aside to buy a new road bike and also new running kit to celebrate being able to train again. Figured there was no point right now buying the bike until I can actually use it but it’s good to have something to look forward to to motivate and keep you even more focussed when training starts again.

Stay on track with eating

The first thing I did when I was told I couldn’t run for a while was turn to Ice Cream and snacks in feeling miserable. I soon found that – that came with consequences – 3kg of them! I have got most of the weight back off now but it was scary how easy it was to become a different person eating wise just because I couldn’t train and felt down. Gaining weight and feeling miserable about it go hand in hand so I have tried to stay focussed and continue as normal with my healthy eating.

Most of all though – remember you are not alone. Lots of people are unable to train and it all comes down to how you choose to deal with it. It is hard and frustrating – but hang in there and try and stay positive.

Hope these tips help. If you have any others feel free to share in the comments box below.

I’m sat looking out of the window in my office watching the rain pouring down quite thankful I am sick at the moment! I have friends that I call ‘all weather nuts! (sorry Shaun!) who will train come rain, hail or shine! Me on the other hand if it was raining before my trainers touched the outside then it would either be a lie in or an indoor training session. I’m a delicate flower and don’t welcome the prospect of being sick all in the name of a training session :-) I can hear some of you saying ‘Suck it up Princess!’ – sorry I am a sook!

It’s gotten very cold in Brisbane the last few days and as a result a lot of people I’ve spoken too have gotten sick – and I came down with something a few days ago and currently still sound like a female version of Barry White – so haven’t done anything remotely exercise orientated in the last few days! Still not able to run at the moment but being sick and not even being able to do weights or walk the dog has driven me stir crazy!

Hope you have had a better training week than I have and haven’t succumbed to sickness. Will write more soon when my brain doesn’t feel like it is full of candy floss!